


Blindfolded

by eximicus



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: M/M, Soulmate AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-09 12:36:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5540207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eximicus/pseuds/eximicus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur Kirkland had been blind for all his life. He didn't believe in ridiculous things such as soulmates. But apparently, Alfred F. Jones had a different opinion about that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blindfolded

**Author's Note:**

> written down to celebrate christmas 2015. happy christmas to all of you who's celebrating it!

This world was weird. It was weird enough that when people was born and breathed in this world, they were born as a blind. There was no exception. Countries were ruled by blind presidents and prime ministers, merchants were blind, teachers were blind, drivers were blind, everyone was blind.

Well—there was an exception, though. But that worked only to couples who were in love.

The world, you see, was weird. The ability to see was granted only to people who managed to meet their own soulmate in their life. Not only meet, but in order to make the miracle happen, they had to fall in love and declare their love for each other, whatever the ways were. From one point, this might be a good thing because it certainly did help people to find their own soulmate. But from another point, well—this was just a curse.

Arthur Kirkland had been blind all his entire life. He had been blind for 23 years and he was completely okay with that. Not that he didn’t want to see, though. He did want to see how the world looked like, but Arthur apparently had lost faith and hope in finding his own soulmate.

It’s just, frankly speaking, _impossible_.

“What the hell do you think should I do to find my bloody soulmate among all of _these_ people?!” Arthur voiced his thought one time when he went out drinking with his friend-yet-enemy, Francis Bonnefoy. Francis himself managed to found his own soulmate quite quickly, that lucky bastard. He was the one that kept on encouraging Arthur not to lose hope to find his one and only, but Arthur was too tired of all this stupid nonsense about finding soulmate in order to achieve eyesights.

“That’s why they call it ‘soulmate’, _mon cher_.” Francis commented before sipping his wine in an elegant manner. Meanwhile, Arthur just snorted as he sipped his third glass of ale. “Two people connected by the string of fate, trying to find each other in order to complete one another. Ah, isn’t that beautiful?”

“Talk to my bloody arse, Francis.”

Francis frowned. He didn’t like talking to a drunk Arthur, especially about soulmate matters. “Look, Arthur. I am being serious right here.” He threw his arm around Arthur’s shoulder, pulling the Englishman close for a whisper. “I am helping you as a friend. You see, I’m going to attend Matthieu’s brother’s Christmas party tomorrow night.”

“Your soulmate’s brother’s Christmas party has nothing to do with me, Francis. Sod off and don’t you bloody dare touch me.”

“I’m asking you to go along with me. I don’t accept ‘no’.” Francis said, which was soon followed with a groan that managed to escape Arthur’s lips.

“Unbelievable!” Arthur reciprocated, his face was red as he drank his fifth glass of ale. “Abso-bloody-lutely fantastic, Francis. Alright, count me in, whatever. I don’t care.”

Which was the reason why Arthur was sitting on Francis’ car’s passenger seat, scowling with arms crossed over his chest.

“Remind me again why I am here with you.” Arthur might be blind, but his eyebrow game was strong. One bushy brow was raised towards the way Arthur believed Francis was sitting at, trusting his sense of hearing and gripping the seatbelt tightly for dear life when Francis drove the car like he was driving a bloody race car.

“To attend Matthieu’s brother’s Christmas party and to find you your soulmate.” Francis answered calmly, eyes focused at the road as his feet hit the gas again. “Ohonhonhon~ Enjoy the ride, _mon cher_!”

“FRANCIS! HIT THE GODDAMNED BRAKE AND SLOW DOWN, WILL YOU?”

Francis ignored him completely and hit the gas again.

 

“ _Bonjour_ , Francis, Arthur,” Arthur could hear a soft French voice greeting him, whom he assumed as Matthew, Francis’ boyfriend. “Both of you look like a mess. Did something happen before…?”

Francis huffed as his fingers ran down his long blond hair. “Arthur yanked my beautiful hair.”

“Shut the bloody hell up.” Arthur glared towards the way he believed as where Francis was standing at. “If you weren’t going so fast I feel like almost dying, I wouldn’t have yanked your hair in the first place."

It was silent. “’Ello? Francis, I swear if you don’t answer me right now—”

“Uh—I guess you’re talking to the wrong person, dude.” It wasn’t Francis’ voice. It was other person. With a heavy American accent, Arthur noted.

The Englishman blinked a couple of times. “Oh, pardon me,” he mumbled, cursing in a low voice afterwards. “Those bastards, leaving me alone when they know I can’t bloody see—“

“Hey, that’s cool, man,” The stranger said, and Arthur didn’t know why, but he knew that the stranger was smiling right now. Something from his voice explained so. Arthur could smell the scent of a sweet cologne, probably coming from the stranger. It was sweet and enchanting, capable of making his mind go crazy in any minute.

Arthur felt a hand on top of his right shoulder and his body tensed up slightly. “Ah, sorry—did I surprise you?” He heard the stranger’s voice and relaxed almost immediately.

“No, it’s alright—I get that often.” Arthur replied, although ‘yes, that bloody surprised me you git’ would be the answer he’d be more than happy to provide with.

“Oh, right. Anyway, I’m Alfred F. Jones.”

“Arthur Kirkland. Fancy meeting you, Alfred.”

“So… You’re British? Francis’ friend?” Oh, so he knew Francis, Arthur thought. He nodded towards the way he believed where Alfred was (this time, he was sure he knew where Alfred was standing). “That’s awesome. I love it, you know—British stuffs. They’re cool, dude.”

“Thank you… I suppose?” Arthur was flattered. It was not the first time someone mentioned that to him, but to hear that from Alfred… Arthur didn’t know, but he felt rather special and that made him happy.

Silence dominated the conversation for a couple of minutes before Alfred spoke again. “And don’t get me started on accents. British accents—dang it.” Arthur could feel himself shiver when Alfred clicked his tongue. “They’re sexy.”

“I… Uh…”

“Alfred, there you are!” Arthur could hear the familiar voice from the background, frowning as he tried to remember whose voice did that belong to. “Oh, I see you’re talking with Arthur.” Ah, Francis’ boyfriend. Who was his name again? Mark? Maddie, or whatever.

“Hey, Mattie!” Yes, Arthur thought, agreeing to himself. It was Matthew! How could he forget the poor lad’s name? “Enjoying the party? Where’s Francis?”

Arthur’s body didn’t tense up the way it did before when he felt Francis’ hand hanging on his shoulder. “Don’t worry about me. The party’s fantastic, Alfred. _Merci_ for the invitation—Arthur’s glad he’s invited.”

Wait—so Alfred’s the one hosting the party? And wait, what was with the ‘Arthur’s glad he’s invited’ matter?!

“I-I’ll have you know that it was Francis’ idea to drag me along to the party,” Arthur quickly added. “He said it’s to help me find my soulmate, or some bollocks similar to that.”

Alfred’s boisterous laugh echoed in the equally noisy room. Some people looked at them, but most of the people there ignored them, probably already aware of Alfred’s super ability in laughing. “Mattie said the similar thing to me! Which was the reason why I decided to throw this Christmas party. Maybe we should talk.”

Arthur didn’t get the chance to answer as Francis filled him in his stead. “ _Oui, oui!_ Both of you really need to talk. Now go on inside the room, don’t mind me and Matthieu, alright? The night is still young, enjoy it while you still can!” The Frenchman was practically shoving both of them into an empty room (which was actually Alfred’s own bedroom) and locked them up inside. “Arthur, I’ll come and get you later when I’m done~! _Adieu_!”

With that, the door was closed shut with a slam.

The room was silent. Not even a soft creak could be heard and Arthur felt his heart was beating too fast, it felt like it was going to beat and jumped out of his chest.

“Are you nervous?” Alfred’s voice broke the silence between them and Arthur realized he had been holding his breath for God knew how long. “K-Kind of, actually.”

Arthur stayed close to the wall behind him. That was the only thing that made him feel safe. “Look, I am extremely sorry for what Francis has done to us. He’s a bastard, and I have to apologise for his behaviour. I am so—“

“For what?”

Arthur blinked once, twice. “For everything?”

“No! No, it’s alright, really. Francis is my brother’s boyfriend, I’ve known him for a long time. He’s just that type of guy.” Alfred chuckled softly. “He’s just trying to help us.”

“Using the wrong way.”

“Not really.” Alfred approached him slowly, trying to walk closer towards Arthur using the help of the wall around him and his sense of hearing. “I feel like this is quite a good idea. Dunno, though.”

Arthur stayed silent. He was still in the middle of plotting a revenge towards Francis, he didn’t realize Alfred was already in front of him. “Arthur?” He jumped slightly when Alfred called him. “S-Sorry, my mind’s somewhere else.”

Alfred smiled again, Arthur knew that. “’S alright. How about we sit down on the bed? More comfortable that way rather than standing, don’t you think?” Arthur agreed, and both of them ended up sitting down on Alfred’s bed with Arthur playing with his fingers and Alfred stared blankly at the ceiling (not that he could see, but well).

“So… How long have you been blind?”

Arthur lifted up his head. “Excuse me?”

“Wrong phrase. I was wondering about your age… Y-Y’know.”

Oh. “I am 23. And you yourself?”

“I’m 19.” And Arthur suddenly felt really old. “It’s not that much of difference, we’re barely four years apart. Might work somehow.”

“What are you talking about?”

Alfred lifted his eyebrow up. “…Soulmate…thingy. You don’t like it?” Arthur didn’t know how, but he could feel something’s off from Alfred’s tone. “N-No! It’s… not like that. It’s complicated, you see.” Arthur took a deep breath and hugged himself. “I… have never believed in my soulmate.”

Alfred didn’t reply. “Simply because I have lost my faith in searching for one… It’s not like I need my eyesight in the first place either.” Arthur closed his eyes and buried his face in between his knees. “It’s ridiculous.”

“No it’s not.”

Arthur felt his head being lifted gently and he stared, even though all he could see was only the never ending pitch black laying right before his eyes since forever. “You know,” Arthur could hear the sound of lips being licked, presumably Alfred, “I was jealous of Mattie.”

“I was jealous of him, because he found his soulmate way sooner than me. I was jealous, because he could finally see the world before me. I was jealous, because finally he could see the things I’ve been wanting to see since we’re kids. Whenever he told me something, whether it’s, ‘Look, Alfred! The moon’s shining so brightly, it’s beautiful!’ or, ‘See, Alfred? The flowers have bloomed already, the colors are so pretty!’, I—“ Alfred stopped to take a breath and Arthur wondered how he managed to hold his breath that long, “—I realized I want to meet my soulmate soon and show them how beautiful the world actually is.”

Arthur breathed, his brain was still in the middle of processing everything Alfred had just said. That’s right… How could he lose his hope? Surely there was a chance that his soulmate was still out there, thinking the same as what he was thinking. But what if his soulmate was someone whose way of thinking was exactly like Alfred? What if they were actually working hard to find him, to be able to see and share the world’s color together with him?

_What if his soulmate was someone who was like Alfred?_

“I was hoping to find them tonight, since it’s Christmas Eve and all,” Alfred’s voice echoed again and dragged Arthur back to the reality. “It would be awesome if I could spend Christmas with them. I have lots of things in mind, I have prepared for this since long time ago.” Alfred let himself fall to the bed and closed his eyes.

“Pretty sick, huh?”

Arthur smiled. “Not really. The fact that I am here, okay with Francis dragging me to attend your bloody Christmas party sounds more insane than that, I suppose.” Arthur followed Alfred, letting his back fell and met the bed with a soft thud. “But thank you. Your words… They gave me another ray of hope.” Arthur turned his face towards his left and his hand searched for Alfred’s. Once found, their fingers immediately intertwined and for the first time in forever, Arthur was grateful that he was not the only blind person in the room. Imagine the embarrassment if Alfred saw his red face right now. “Thank you. I mean it.”

“Glad I can help.” Alfred replied. For once, the silence was comfortable before Alfred broke it again. “Hey, Arthur?”

“Yes?”

“…I know it sounds crazy, but can I kiss you?”

Arthur blinked. “I’m sorry?”

Nervous laugh and heavy tension filled the room. “You know, after talking and all that shit, I feel like you’re the one I’ve been looking for. Sounds cheesy, but c’mon! Everything’s already cheesy in the first place, the soulmate thingy!”

That was one thing Arthur couldn’t complain because yes, this soulmate thing was super cheesy as hell. “I-I suppose so.”

“May I?” Arthur felt Alfred’s fingers on his chin. And he nodded.

It was quite the sloppy kiss, Arthur thought, as his lips met Alfred’s. Arthur closed his eyes tightly, trying to remember and savor every moment possible. It was breathtaking and amazing, Arthur didn’t know why. Alfred wasn’t his soulmate, for crying out loud! He was supposed to feel special only for that special person!

_But what if Alfred was the one?_

Arthur’s eyes perked open in a sudden and the kiss came to an abrupt end.

At first, Arthur expected for the same darkness to come and greet him, but he was caught in surprise.

A pool of… What was that color? Was that what people called as ‘blue’? Whatever the color was, that was certainly the clearest, most beautiful thing Arthur had ever seen in his entire life.

“…Green,” Alfred whispered in short breaths. No one dared to blink and each of them drowned in the beauty that was their partner’s eyes.

“Arthur, your eyes are so green.” Alfred commented again. Now, Arthur could feel Alfred’s fingers on every inch of his face, especially around his eyelids and his cheek. “So green… Like the color of grass and trees and leaves Mattie used to tell me.”

“Yours are so blue.” Arthur added, licking his dry lips occasionally as his fingers gently brushed some locks that fell onto Alfred’s forehead. “Like the color of the sky and the ocean Francis used to tell me. They’re so clear… So beautiful…”

Oh, what was this feeling inside his heart? Arthur felt all warm, bubbly and tingling inside. It was new and strange and foreign, but weirdly, it felt right.

“Oh my God.” Alfred’s voice brought Arthur back, preventing him from drowning inside the pool of clear baby blue color. “You are so gorgeous.”

And with that, Alfred pulled Arthur to a bone-crushing hug. “You’re perfect, Arthur. Oh God, so perfect I feel like crying.”

Arthur didn’t know how, but soon he found himself crying along with Alfred. It was truly a stupid yet endearing sight, two adults crying because they had found each other, the missing pieces from their soul and finally.

They were finally complete.

The sound of bells ringing brought both of them back and they realized that it was past midnight already by now.

It was Christmas.

“We should probably go out—the party is still going out there.” Arthur whispered.

“You know what, Arthur?” Alfred stared deeply at Arthur’s bright green eyes. They were so beautiful Alfred would never grow bored watching them. Instead, he would soon find himself falling in love over and over again to that bright green, never stopping for whatever the reason was. “Screw the party, didn’t I mention that I have lots of things for us to do together in mind?”

Arthur nearly forgot how to breathe when he saw the look in Alfred’s eyes—the look of pure love. “Yes.”

“Well,” Alfred smiled and Arthur followed soon, their foreheads touching as both of them exchanged giggles and breaths. “What do you say about that?”

“That sounds lovely.”

“Awesome.” Alfred kissed Arthur’s eyelids, pestering the Englishman’s face with chaste kisses and this time, managed to kiss him properly on the lips. It was warm and affectionate, and it was certainly full of love.

Arthur Kirkland had been blind all his entire life. He had been blind for 23 years and no. This time, he was not completely okay with that. Being blind was certainly a thing that he would miss as it had been a part of him for a long time, but Alfred F. Jones definitely made everything more interesting than it had been before. He took off the blindfold that covered Arthur’s eyes for 23 years and showed him a world full of color, and Arthur Kirkland was sure he could not wait more to see what the future had in store for the two of them.

It just took him hope, faith, love and courage. And of course, a little bit of magic to make everything happen.

“Merry Christmas, sweetheart. I love you.”

**Author's Note:**

> eximicus here speaking.
> 
> hello everyone and nice to meet all of you! i'm a new author here and this is my first published work in ao3! I've published some short stories in wattpad under the name 'akocchi' (yep, that's me!) and i feel sO NERVOUS BECAUSE GOD, THIS WORK; IT'S FINALLY PUBLISHED.
> 
> lol jk i need to calm myself down. SO OK. first, i know the title has nothing to do with the plot AT ALL. i apologise. second, i know the story might feel a little bit rushed because yes, i wrote it down in an extreme hurry. i spent days thinking about what should i write to celebrate christmas bUT I GOT NOTHING. NOTHING AT ALL. so i searched through tumblr for some ff prompts and i found some good ones, but when i tried to write them down, they just didn't flow to me. they felt weird and i didn't know what to do. i've got lots of drafts but they all suck to me. so in the end, i decided to write this instead! there are still lots of mistakes and there's something off somewhere in the story but i don't know why is that. i just hope that you enjoyed the story as much as i enjoyed writing it (although it was quite hard writing it, it was unbelievably fun).
> 
> i realized i'm probably blabbering nonsense by now so i'll just make this short. i'll still write in the future, no matter how bad my stories are but i do hope to improve by writing more and more everyday. one thing for sure, english is NOT my first language so you'll find many grammatical mistakes but please bear with it. please do tell me if i make mistakes though, i'll fix them down ASAP. thank you for spending your time reading my work and i do hope you enjoy it!^q^


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